Two different sides of coin with the same value

     One of the super powers that are really attainable is the power of persuasion. You do not need any gadgets for it, just use what God has given you, mouth, tongue, voice and the mentality to manipulate words. Two best superheroes that the world has witnessed are Adolf Hitler and Churchill. These are the best public speakers as well and till today, people are analyzing their speech and use it as example to learn the skill of persuading people. Even though they both practice different belief, they have the same style in presenting their intention.

     First of all, both of them use persuasive language that we can clearly see. For example, in the speech of “We will fight on the beaches” by Churchill, he has used persuasive words like …“I have, myself, full of confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home…”, “…we shall not flag or fail…”, “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France…”. Hitler has the same trait as Churchill. It is clearly noticed through his speech as well; “Now here are 85 million Germans looking into pride and confidence. They are heirs of a great history. We had a world empire when England was nothing but a small island and for a longer time than for 300 years”, “We go into the new year with a fighting force armed as never before in German history. The number of our divisions on land has been enormously increased. Pay has been increased…”  What we can notice is that both leaders are trying to gain their audience’s support through this persuasive skill that they possess.

      Further similar trait that we can notice is the use of pronoun “We” and “I”. The use of “We” here shows the connectivity between the leaders and their audience. It is a good way to gain support because when the pronoun “We” is used, the leaders are including the audience as direct involvement. This gives the audience confidence that the leaders are giving them the attention that they needed. The use of “I” here shows superiority. Both leaders are very influential, that we know. Hitler is a famous symbol for dictatorship. We can see his urge for power through the usage of “I” in his speeches. Churchill is not a dictator but in his speech, we can find the usage of “I”. This is maybe to show his influence of what he has done, addressing his achievements.

Moreover, they both are well prepared for their speech. This is truly a quality that a leader should have. We can see their confidence in their speech and this is one of the evidences that they are well prepared. There are no pauses or fillers in unnecessary places. This is also another sign of how much they have prepared. Moreover, their speeches are spontaneous as they only have main points with them when they gave the speech. Not all can do that but a great leader like Adolf Hitler and Churchill.

 

What are we, pigs or humans???

     Thanks to George Orwell and one of his masterpiece, the question is now arisen. Are we really behaving like humans or did we revolutionize ourselves from characteristics of animals? Is Darwin’s theory is proven? This is because no matter how you control yourself the animal inside will wake up one day, which is a true statement, whether we realize it directly or no. Psychology aside, let just focus on the animals. This story is about how the animals started to fight for their rights and started a ruling government of their own among themselves. The smartest of their kind are the pigs, how contradicting. It is a good example of how both dictatorship and socialism have their own pros and cons.

     I do not want to see this from the angle of representation of the characters towards any person who lived or lives on the surface of planet earth. Let us just see this as a story with moral values. The animals wanted to bring revolution to their farm and that is not wrong at all. They fought for their rights, they earned themselves of what they deserve, freedom. So, Napoleon and Snowball, the smart and competitive pig started to take over. They did not lead but just monitor things around. Things seemed to go in the right flow. They even created seven commandments;

1.       Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2.       Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.

3.       No animal shall wear clothes.

4.       No animal shall sleep in a bed.

5.       No animal shall drink alcohol.

6.       No animal shall kill any other animal.

7.       All animals are equal.

     Such were their rules that they based their life upon. All the animals did their job as usual, only this time they did it happily with no pressure or fear of being mistreated. But things turned ugly when Napoleon secretly plans to topple Snowball even though they were getting the same rights as the monitors of the animals. He secretly reared the puppies for quite some time. He used these dogs as his weapon to threaten other animals and eventually gain control of them. Soon, he began to change the commandments to suit his actions. At the end, commandments were as below;

Four legs good, two legs better.

No animals shall sleep in bed with sheets.

No animals shall drink alcohol to excess.

No animals shall kill any other animal without cause.

All animals are equal BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.

     The best part has to be the ending where the pigs and humans celebrate their reunion but the celebration ended in a brawl. This is what happens when animals try to behave like humans and humans behave like animals. Dictatorship or socialism, it all depends on the heart that follows it. If you have a strong heart that you can practice certain beliefs without deviating from the original path, then what you are doing is right. There can be some changes, but those changes should bring improvement and not degradation. What we should learn from this story is that as humans, we are better species than the others; we are given special gifts by the God, the ability to think. We should never use them to behave like animals and demolish our own kinds or torture animals. Everyone has their own specialty and it should be respected or else “from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man; it will be impossible to say which was which”.

Lady-like Smile

     A star studded movie is always a movie worth watching few times. Julia Roberts, Kirtsen Dunst and few other big names are a bunch of talented crew that can be found in the movie Mona Lisa smile. For me, I viewed this movie from a perception of a feminist or rather I was made into thinking that way because most of the casts in this movie are ladies, I just cannot help thinking that way. Nevertheless, it was very entertaining as I never have the thought that I would be watching a movie from this point of view.

     Feminism is one of the theories in literature and so was taught to me. To me, this is absolutely a good theory because it stands up for the women who deserve to shine like a star among the suns in the literature galaxy. In this movie, Julia Roberts is appointed as a lecturer to teach arts in a famous college in Wellesley. The first day does not go as how she had expected because the students were just too smart. They have studied everything in the syllabus and it was just another day for them. But Julia Roberts’ character sensed something that they lack, freedom. All they have in their mind is to finish studying and find the right guy to be married to. So, the savior steps up to the duty and does her job well in making the girls realize that life is not only about getting married. Women have their rights to choose what they want to do with their life and they have expectations, ambitions and dreams that worth chasing.

     My favourite part is when Julia Roberts shows them a picture of flower in a vase and the students could not answer what kind of art it is. They started arguing within themselves and that is when Julia Roberts started to put some sense into them. This is what I would like to do to my students. Education is not for them to pass examination. Knowledge is not something to be copied on the answering sheets and be forgotten the next day. It is something that worth keeping forever, it is meant to be shared with everone. Life has to offer so much yet we constrain them and make the hell out of it.

     This movie has really put some sense into me as well. My students will be friends. There are limits and rules to be followed but apart from that, I want them to know that as a teacher, I am able to make a difference in their life and I would want to gain their trust. All this is through the innocent smile introduced by a legend that never spoke a word or even blink her eyes, Mona Lisa.